Switch



y 7, 1959 v H. M. NEWCOMB 2,894,089

SWITCH Filed Dec. 15', 1954,

States? Patent SWIIIGH Harley, M. Newconah Sturgis, Mic h., assignor to Wade Electric Products Co., S turg is, Micln, a corporation of Michigan ppl a o -D ember-15,; 5 st aliNo-u 75fl flt 5' Claims. ((31. 200-61.54)

T p sent. invention, la o ane e tric l: switch and, more particularly, to a switch which is operable by which isoperative, to-close the starter circuit while the shaft lever is inthe neutral position and to openor disable the'startertcircuit while theshift mechanisrrris in any of the forwardorreverse position s.

The a e e t h o s ty e iChbQlh QP- erate the ack-up lights, and disable the startervcircuit. However, there .has been no satisfactory co n nation itch w c pe mit t en r z ion 9 h s ar e circuit in two:positions of the shift lever. Most, of the prior starter and back-up switches havenot been satisfactory asregardstheir terminal connectors-since these have either been molded in or of, a type requiring a snap-on, bayonet-type or screw-typefastener.

The principal object of this inventionvisto provide an improved electrical switch for a motor vehicle which is operable byv a shift levermountedin the steering column oftthe vehicle and which is especially adapted to be used on a motor vehicle equipped with an automatic transmission,.whereby when the shift lever is moved to the park.

or neutral position, the starter circuit will be closedor operative and when the shift lever is moved to the Il Ve, low, or reverse position, the starter circuit will be open or inoperative. The improved electrical switch of this inventiontalso provides means to open the back-up lights circuit so as to make such lights inoperative when the shift lever is in the park, neutral, drive or low positions and to close the circuit to make the back-up lights operative only when the shift lever is in the reverse position.

Another object of the invention is to provide animproved'switch for neutralizing the starter circuit of a motor vehicle and for operating the back-up lights of such vehicle, which is simple in construction, which is more economical to manufacture, and which is more durable, efficient and reliable in operation by reason of the combination of a unique helical return bias spring operating on an -a-rcu-ate path and novel one-piece flat :spade terminal connectors.

Other objectspfeatures and advantages of the present tailed, description taken in conjunction with the ac-' companying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is an elevational view, partly in section; of the upper portion of thesteering column of a motor ve icle. on whi h nt d sw tch i ade in ac rd n vtiththe pric pl ro r he in en ion;

ie. 2 a o s ti n 1; cW-Q b t wt i u t at d-i P e. 1, ak t lqns h e +2 h qf;

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional View showing thebottom id Qf e wit hstm t i e l u r ed-. nfii h e tion being taken aiong the line 3,. thereof;

Fig. 4 is, a plan view of an arcshaped indicator plate, of the type normally used on a motor vehicle equipped w h n utoma c nsm ion W nd m he PQ$i of the shift, lever and, reference letters are made heside thisindicator plate to show when the electrical switch of-the. present inven on is operatiyeor noneoperative;

f I t t dinal, sectionalview of thestrucqtel ll st eted-t n B g: ke alqng cll 'ns fifi r of;

Big, 6 is a cross sectional View of the structure ilmante n. F g; aken elsneihe iee' s nd;

7 isan exploded; view in perspective of a terminal anta' t t h s. ven q t fl a ie em naltherefor. V Q i In accordance with the. present invention, a combined starter anafpggrfupi switch for automatic transmission eq ippert vehicles is provided fwh lein a helically coiled compression spr ng confined; an arcua'te pathway is e rnpl oyed tobias asliding contact blockinto con ct with ag starter circuit contact in either oflwo' p ons of a switch lever. Also in accordance with the present invention, a novel type of flat-spade te ininal coniiector contacts are employed whichifirnily grip" theirspade connectors bly reason of a detent in one oftheirspadegripping elements and, which are. tfirfrnl'y locked in position and in alignment the/housing by reasonofioutwardlyproje prine-typ- Referring now to the drawings, and mo e Particularly to Figs. 1 through 3 the reference numeral Z'indicates the steering column of-a' motorjvehicl'e' which is fixed to the body of the vehicle, as by, the bracket 4. Rotatably mo nted inside the steering column 2 isa c venti'onal steering wheel shaft 6, which is surrounded by'a'rotatable shift levers, which is in the form of a hollow'tube. Steerirrg wheel shaft 6 and shift tube 8 maybe mounted by any conventional means in the steering column 2, as by the bearing members 10. A hand-shift lever 12 is suitablyconnected to the upper end of the'shift tube 8 to rotate the same independently of the steering wheel shaft 6.

The reference numeral ,1 4 designates a neutral and back-up light switch made in accordance with the invention and includes an arc-shaped housing 16 adapted to be suitably fixed to the outer curved surface of the cylindrical steering column 2 by means of bracket-like ears 1-7 and screws 18. The steering column 2 is provided with a slot-like openinglFigsLl and 3) between the points designated as 20 and 2 2, into w'hich the'inner portion of the arc-like housing 16 is extended. As'is' best seen in Fig. 6, the arc-shaped housing 16'ha's an inverted channelshaped cross section and is adapted to'receive within the lower open end thereof a similarly arc-shaped terminal connector housing 24 integrally molded of' plastic or other insulating material. The housing 16 may be' made of metal or any other suitable material and is provided with a plurality of depending arms or tabs 26 adapted to extend downward and to be bent around and under an integral, outwardly extending top flange 28 (see Fig. '5) of the terminal connector housing 24. As shown in Fig. 3, each of the arms 26 is preferably seated in a notch 30 on the base 24 and then is bent under and into engagement with the flange 28. The internal passageway of housing 16 is closed on its ends by depending end portions 29 and 31 integral with the top cover 16.

As is best seen in Figs. 3 and 5, the terminal connector housing 24 is made of insulating material, preferably molded as one piece of plastic such as Bakelite. The connector housing 24 has four terminal connector receptacles 34, 36, 38 and 40 which have a hexagonal lower cross section and a round upper cross section. Into each of the receptacles there is pressed a terminal connectorcontact 42 made of thin strip metal bent in on itself to form a pair of internal prongor spade-receiving connector elements 50. The sides of each of the connectorcontacts 42 are slit at right angles and the slit material bent outwardly to form a plurality of outwardly-projecting lug-like prongs 46 which, when the connector is pushed in, snap into contact under and against the shoulder 44 formed between the round and hexagonal portions of each receptacle. The fiat top surface 48 of each connector-contact 42 serves as an integral stationary contact. One of the internal connector elements 50 is provided with a detent 52 adapted to engage a mating aperture or depression in a flat spade-type terminal 54 when the latter is inserted therein. With this arrangement, more than lbs. force are necessary to separate connector and spade. Moreover, the use of a one-piece terminal connector-contact which is firmly anchored in place prevents displacement of the contacts and misalignment between sliding and stationary contacts.

As shown in Fig. 3, the terminal connector 42 in receptacle 34 is intended to receive a spade terminal connected to a lead 56 which in turn is connected to a starter switch 58. The numeral 60 identifies the starter solenoid for the motor vehicle and one side thereof is suitably connected to the starter switch 58 by lead 64 and the I other side is connected to grounded lead 66. The numeral 70 indicates a conventional storage battery which is connected by leads 68 and 69 to the terminal connector 42 in aperture 36. The battery 70 is grounded as at 72 by lead 74 and is further connected to the terminal connector 42 in aperture 38 by leads 68 and 76. The numerals 78 and 80 designate a pair of conventional back-up lights which are connected to the terminal connector 42 in aperture by leads 82, 84 and 86, and which are grounded as at 88 and 90 by leads 92 and 94, respectively.

As is best seen in Figs. 2 and 5, a sliding bridge contact assembly is slidably mounted in the curved passageway in housing 16 and includes a slide block member 98 made or molded from a suitable insulating material such as Bakelite. The slide block member 98 is provided with an integrally molded, inwardly-extending switch lever 100 which is protected by a wear cover or ferrule 102. The shift tube 8 is provided with a circumferential slot-like opening 104 into which the switch lever 100 extends. Rotation of shift tube 8, therefore, effects movement of slide block 98 back and forth in the curved passageway of housing 16. (The ends of the slot 104 are designated by the numerals 106 and 108.) The slide block member 98 may be provided with suitable bearing means, such as the ball bearings 110, on the upper side thereof to reduce friction by contact with the top of cover 16. The bottom side of slide block member 98 is resiliently supported on a slide contact 112 by means of a spring 113 to insure good contact and smooth movement of the block 98. As is best seen in Fig. 5, the contact 112 is adapted to bridge pairs of the stationary con- .4 A return biasing spring 114, which is a helically-coiled spring, preferably of round wire, is mounted in the curved housing 16 hearing on one end against the slide member 98 (at 116) and against the housing end portion 31 on the other end. In order to prevent the spring 114 from contacting the stationary contacts 48 in its passage thereover when slide block 98 is moved to close the starter motor circuit, the terminal connector housing 24 is provided with a pair of spaced, upwardly extending ridges 118 having tapered faces 115 and 117 (as illustrated in Fig. 6) to cradle and smoothly guide the spring in its sliding movement.

The operation of the illustrative embodiment of the invention may best be described by starting with the shift lever 12 in the park position, represented by P on the indicator plate of Fig. 4. In this position, the slide block 98 will be positioned as shown in Figs. 2 and 5, with the sliding contact 112 in contact with the stationary contacting surfaces 48 in the receptacles 34 and 36. This completes the circuit to the vehicle starter solenoid 60 so as to permit the starter to be actuated by starter switch 58. In this position, the slide block assembly 98 is held against the housing end portion 29 by the biasing action of the return spring 11 4. When the shift lever 12 is moved to the neutral or N position, the shift tube 8 will be rotated clockwise, as viewed in Fig. 2. The slide block assembly 98 will not be moved since the shift tube slot 104 is sutficiently wide to permit the shift tube to be rotated from the park to the neutra position without moving the slide block switch lever 100. It will be seen that the starter circuit remains closed when the shift lever is moved to the neutral position and that the edge 106 of groove 104 will be moved to a position adjacent the switch lever 100. Accordingly, in both the par and neutral positions the starter circuit is closed and the back-up light circuit is open and the lights inoperative. When the shift lever 12 is moved to the drive position, the edge 106 of slot 104 will engage the switch lever ferrule 102 and move the slide block 98 clockwise, as viewed in Fig. 2, against the biasing action of spring 114. Such movement serves to break the connection between the stationary contacts 48 in the apertures 34 and 36 and to open the starter circuit. There is sufficient space between receptacles 36 and 38 to pre vent shorting of the battery circuit. Similarly, the starter circuit also remains open or inoperative when the slide block 98 is moved to the low and reverse positions. As is more clearly indicated in Fig. 4 by the numerals 120 and 122, the starter circuit is closed or operative when the shift lever 12 is in the par and neutral positions and open, or inoperative, when the shift lever 12 is in the drive," low and reverse positions.

As illustrated by the numeral 124 in Fig. 4, the backup light circuit is inoperative or open when the shift lever 12 is in the park, neutral, drive and low positions. However, when the shift lever 12 is moved to the reverse position, as designated by the numeral 126, the sliding contact 112 will simultaneously engage the stationary contacts 48 in receptacles 38 and 40, and function to close or make operative the back-up light circuit.

. On the return movement of the shift lever 12, from the reverse to the neutral position, the return spring 114 biases the switch lever 100 against the far edge 106 of the shift tube slot 104 and into engagement again with the starter circuit contact. As mentioned above, the

width of slot 104 permits the shift tube 8 to be moved tact surfaces 48 of the terminal connectors 42 situated in g to the neutral" position without further movement of assembly 96. In this way, the automobile motor can be started in the park or P position without first moving the shift lever 12 to the neutral or N position. In both the P and N positions of the shift tube 8 the slide block member 98 is located at the far end of the curved passageway.

The helically-coiled spring 114 is necessarily supported and confined so as not to touch the stationary contacts.

Inth switch of this inventiomthe. spring 114 is smoothly ra led and guided by the slanting surfaces 115, 117 of the ridges 118. Acting on an arc, the helically-coiled spring jslides much more smoothly'than a similarspring supported-on level guides due to the. recovery tendency, when flexed or bent of a helically coiled spring. In the arcuately-flexed condition, a helically-coiled spring has a tendencyto drag'its coils around the are because of the shift of the coils from one end to the other when flexed so that the arcuately-confined spring will last longer and more effectively operate the sliding contact assembly.

What is claimed is:

1. In a combined starter and back-up light switch adapted to be mounted on the exterior cylindrical surface of the steering column of an automobile, in which column there is housed a transmission shifting member, the improvement comprising an arc-shaped housing, a plurality of stationary electrical contacts arranged in an arc-shaped passageway defined by said arc-shaped housing, each of said stationary contacts being a surface of a flat spade terminal connector-contact, each said connector-contact having one connector element having a detent for engaging a cooperating hole in a flat spade terminal and projecting lugs for firmly anchoring it in position, a slide block of insulating material disposed in said passageway and arranged to move back and forth therein, bridging means carried by said slide block to slidably engage said stationary contacts, a switch lever attached to said slide block adapted to be engaged by a slot in said transmission shifting member, and a helically-coiled compression spring arcuately supported and confined in said arc-shaped passageway operative on one end of said slide block, said spring biasing said slide block toward one end of said passageway so as to take up the slack in the connection between said switch lever and said transmission shifting member during movement of the latter.

2. In a combined starter and back-up light switch adapted to be mounted on the exterior cylindrical surface of the steering column of an automobile having an auto matic transmission, in which column there is housed a transmission shifting member which is operable to park, neutral, drive, low and reverse positions, in that order, and which has a circumferential slot-like opening in its surface proportional to the distance between said park and neutral positions, the improvement which comprises an arc-shaped switch housing adapted to be mounted on the exterior of said steering column so as to be substantially concentric therewith, an arc-shaped terminal mounting connected to said switch housing, four stationary electrical contacts serially arranged along said terminal mounting in the order: one end contact intended to be connected to the starter, the other end contact intended to be connected to the back-up lights and a pair of currentsupply contacts between said starter and back-up contacts, a slide block of insulating material disposed in said switch housing and adapted to slide back and forth in an arc-shaped passageway therein, bridging means carried by said slide block and adapted to bridge two adjacent said stationary contacts, a switch lever attached to said slide block and adapted to extend into said column and loosely engage said transmission shifting member, and a helicallycoiled compression spring arcuately confined and supported in said arc-shaped passageway out of contact with said stationary contacts by a pair of upwardly extending ridges integral with said terminal mounting having tapered faces to cradle and guide said spring, said spring biasing said slide block into engagement with said starter contact while said shift lever is moved through the slack in said loose engagement between said switch lever and said transmission shifting member, whereby to make the starter circuit operative in both the park and neutral positions of said transmission shifting member.

3. In a combined starter and back-up light switch adapted to be mounted on the exterior cylindrical surface of the steering column of an automobile having an auto- 6 matic transmission, in which'column there is housed a transmission shifting member which is operable to park, neutral, drive, low and reverse positions, in that-order, and which has .a circumferential slot-like opening in its surfaceproportional to the distance'between said park and neutral positions, the improvement which comprises an arc-shaped switch housing adapted to be mounted on'the exterior of said steering column so as to be substantially concentric therewith, an arc-shaped terminal mounting connected to said switch housing, four stationary electrical contacts serially arranged along said terminal mounting in the order: one end contact intended to be connected to the starter, the other end contact intended to be connected to the back-up lights and a pair of current-supply contacts between said starter and back-up contacts, each of said stationary contacts being a surface of a thin metal integral fiat spade terminal connector-contact including one internal connector element having a detent for engaging a cooperating hole in a flat spade connector, each said terminal connector-contact being anchored in said terminal housing by means of outwardly projecting lugs, a slide block of insulating material disposed in said switch housing and adapted to slide back and forth in an areshaped passageway therein, bridging means carried by said slide block and adapted to bridge two adjacent said stationary contacts, a switch lever attached to said slide block and adapted to extend into said column and loosely engage said transmission shifting member, and a helicallycoiled compression spring arcuately confined and supported in said arc-shaped passageway out of contact with said stationary contacts by a pair of upwardly extending ridges integral with said terminal mounting having tapered faces to cradle and guide said spring, said spring biasing said slide block into engagement with said starter contact while said shift lever is moved through the slack in said loose engagement between said switch lever and said transmission shifting member, whereby to make the starter circuit operative in both the park and neutral positions of said transmission shifting member.

4. In a switch assembly, the combination comprising a housing, a plurality of stationary electrical contacts arranged in said housing, a block of insulating material disposed in said housing and arranged to move back and forth therein, bridging means carried by said block so as to contact said stationary contacts, each said stationary contact comprising a fiat spade terminal connector-contact having a surface for contacting said bridging means and having connector elements for pinchingly retaining a flat spade terminal, one of said connector elements of each said connector-contact having a detent for engaging a cooperating hole in the flat spade terminal, outwardly projecting lugs on each said connector-contact for anchoring the same in said housing, spring means in said housing biasing said slide block toward one end of said housing, and means having a plurality of selectively settable positions operative to move said slide block against said spring means toward the other end of said housing.

5. In a switch assembly, the combination comprising a housing having an insulated side wall portion, openended recesses in said side wall portion, a plurality of stationary electrical contacts arranged in said recesses, a block of insulating material disposed in said housing and arranged to move back and forth therein, bridging means carried by said block so as to contact said stationary contacts, each said stationary contact comprising a flat spade terminal connector-contact having a surface for contacting said movable contacting elements and having connector elements for pinchingly retaining a flat spade terminal, one of said connector elements of each said connector-contact having a detent for engaging a cooperating hole in the flat spade terminal, outwardly projecting lugs on each said connector-contact for anchoring the same in each said recess in a position so that each said surface bridges an open end of each said recess and each said connector element depends into each said recess for re- 7 ceiving the flat spade terminal, spring means biasing said block toward one end of said housing, and means to move said slide block againstsaid spring means toward the other end of said housing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,919,208 Douglas July 25, 1933 

